The present invention generally relates to avionics, and more particularly relates to electronic chart systems, and even more particularly relates to automatically providing a flight crew member with information relating to electronic charts in response to input entered into an FMS or vice versa.
In the past, designers of avionics systems have endeavored to achieve a reduction in pilot workload and/or an increase in safety of flight.
The cockpit can become, at times, a very busy place. For example, during times when something such as weather or air traffic forces a deviation from a predetermined flight plan, a pilot is often quite busy in avoiding the storm and/or air traffic and simultaneously determining a new flight plan. These problems are compounded when the pilot is also required to use new charts because of the change in flight plan.
For years, printed aviation charts have been commonplace; recently, the charts are being produced as electronic maps and electronic charts to be used by pilots during flight on some on-board electronic library systems. Some of these charts are also now available for handheld touch screen computers carried by pilots or other members of the flight crew. While these electronic charts have some significant advantages over the traditional paper charts, they do have some drawbacks.
One of the primary drawbacks with the electronic library charts or the handheld touch screen charts is difficulty in finding and selecting the appropriate chart among the many electronic charts available on these systems. The problem is exacerbated when the need for a new chart arises during the flight, especially at busy times, such as during approach, etc.
Consequently, there exists a need for improved methods and apparatuses for providing and displaying electronic chart information to a flight crew member.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved means for assisting a pilot with finding and selecting electronic charts.
It is a feature of the present invention to utilize an integrated electronic library system and an FMS.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide the appropriate chart to a busy pilot without the need for scanning through lists of charts which are unrelated to the current flight plan.
It is another feature of the present invention to include a specifically tailored chart selection menu based upon information input into the FMS.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide for reduced pilot workload during busy times of changes in flight plans.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to include a database or look-up table (LUT) to associate FMS data, such as airports, Standard Arrivals (STARS), approaches, runways and Standard Instrument Departures (SIDS), etc. with specific electronic library charts.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide for the capability of reducing pilot workloads at critical times, by permitting the pilot to avoid the effort of sorting through many unrelated charts to find the proper chart for the current flight plan.
The present invention is an apparatus and method for aiding a flight crew member with navigating an aircraft after a flight plan has been changed during the course of a flight, which apparatus and method are designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs, provide the previously stated objects, include the above-listed features, and achieve the already articulated advantages. The present invention is carried out in a xe2x80x9cpilot rummaging-lessxe2x80x9d manner in a sense that the undesirable levels of time spent in searching for the appropriate chart for a given flight plan, have been greatly reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention is an integrated FMS and electronic chart system in which the FMS exports information relating to a flight plan and the appropriate electronic charts for that flight plan are automatically either placed in a list of charts to be used during the flight and/or automatically presented to the pilot for immediate viewing.